


Thank You for Being Born

by Mullk6



Series: Normal Soulmate AUs [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, One Piece
Genre: Ace Lives, Ace deserves a hug, Ace deserves love, Ace is a prankster, Ace's low self-esteem, Akainu also dies, Alternate Marineford Events, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Harry Potter, BAMF Holly, BAMF Trans!Harry, Because fuck you Teach, Dimension Travel, Everything is the Same, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Harry is just female inside, Humor, I fell down the Fem!Harry paired with Ace hole, Kurohige | Blackbeard | Marshall D. Teach Dies, M/M, Nobody likes you, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Slight Humor, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, Teach dies, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Harry Potter, Trans Harry's name is Holly, WW gender-switching is more thorough than normal surgery, almost forgot that one, and soon outside, because MAGIC, because fuck you Akainu, but I don't like gender-benders, it's the only way I can make it work, marineford fix-it, nobody likes you either, so Harry is trans in this fic, this way I don't need to re-write all the books, why is that not a tag, would be redundant if he didn't
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27896539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mullk6/pseuds/Mullk6
Summary: Ace thought he didn't have a soulmate when he kept being alone in the Dreamscape.Then, one day, he heard crying.Harry is in pain, emotional, physical, and mental, when s/he ends up in the Dreamscape the first time, right after the death of Sirius and something strange leaking out of the scar.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace/Female Harry Potter, Portgas D. Ace/Harry Potter
Series: Normal Soulmate AUs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042722
Comments: 157
Kudos: 524
Collections: Anime Mix & Crossovers





	1. Don't wake me up

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Maternal Interference](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18983506) by [Altiria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altiria/pseuds/Altiria). 
  * Inspired by [You say there’s a monster in my past (but I don’t believe you)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22901260) by [Glaux_Bryonia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glaux_Bryonia/pseuds/Glaux_Bryonia). 



> My tumblr for my fanfic rambles and my artwork for my fanfics: <https://mullk6fics.tumblr.com/>
> 
> Because some fucking people can't take into consideration the spirit of my last version, LET ME BE FUCKING LITERAL THEN
> 
> DO NOT beg/ask/demand updates of me. It won't help, in fact, it will make me not update for even fucking longer.  
> DO NOT ask ABOUT updates either. Doing so has the same fucking effect, me not updating.  
> Doing any one of these things ANYWAY will have the effect of me cussing you out, hating you and everything you stand for, and deleting your comment and any that follow.  
> DO NOT tell me I should be flattered by people essentially asking me to do unpaid slave labour for their own entertainment, with no regard to my own mental health.
> 
> I would appreciate it if my comment sections were kept to being a happy place. A stress-free zone. A place I can visit to gather energy in hopes that it will help me write.
> 
> If you don't know what else to say when the things above are said to be taboo, emoji hearts are a good way to do so. No one can misinterpret emoji hearts. The things above can be misinterpreted. Don't do them.  
> Another way is to comment "I can't wait to see what happens next!"
> 
> Honestly, please don't even mention people doing this, or the word Update. It stresses me the fuck out and I have enough issues without people reminding me of the bad stuff.
> 
> Please, for the love of god don't make my bad days worse and ruin my good days, few as they are.

Dreamscape. A place Ace went to often, for brief periods of time. He was alone there, mostly. Back when he first ended up there, he thought it meant that there was no one out there for him.

Why would the son of a Devil have a soulmate, after all.

But then, one day, there'd been the sound of crying. He'd been fifteen at that point and had never met anyone in the dreamscape, but this time-

This time there was someone there.

At first, he just heard the crying, which made him confused, but then he realized what it meant. Looking around, Ace waded through the fog until he found someone curled up on the misty floor.

Huh. So he had a soulmate after all.

Why had it taken so long for-

Whatever, he'd take anything he got by this point.

The late Pirate King's son crouched with a barely audible sigh ”Hey, what's wrong?”

It's not like this was something he wasn't used to, Luffy was still a bit of a crybaby and had been ever since he'd known him. He was getting better, though, and Ace had gotten better at being comforting.

The ravenette's breath hitched, but he didn't stop crying. He did let go of his legs and raised his head enough to wipe at the tears ”Sirius is de~ad- that bitch killed hi~m-” the teen bawled, his breath hitching some more.

If Ace had been anyone else, he wouldn't have been able to understand a word of that. However, he was especially good at deciphering crying Luffy, so he just nodded and asked “Who's Sirius?”

The teen still hadn't even looked at him, which, fine, he was obviously very upset so Ace couldn't blame him for that, but spatial awareness was key to one's survival.

“Sirius was- supposed to- take care of me when my- parents- died, bu- but they put him in- prison- without- trial.” the other explained, words less slurred but with many breaks due to forceful inhalation every few words. He was obviously trying very hard to stop, but crying didn't work that way.

Ace had learned that much, at least, finally.

“But, he esc- escaped so that he could protect me- and- an- and now he's de~ad and he didn't get to be fre~e!”

That last bit was obviously what was hurting him the most and Ace swallowed.

What a pair they were.

“Sirius died a fugitive even though he didn't do anythi~ng!”

Slowly, trying not to upset his soulmate further, Ace sat down and hugged him.

That was how Portgas D. Ace met his soulmate, Potter Harry.

It didn't take long for them to realize they lived in two completely different and separate worlds and Ace immediately, but silently, gave up hope of ever physically meeting the other. Harry had also come up with a theory to the anomaly of their meeting, besides the alternate world thing, which might also have been a factor.

Apparently, there had been something strange in his scar, which had been drained away the same day Sirius had died. It had apparently been connecting Harry's mind to his parents' killer, so it had blocked their soulmate connection.

Ace told Harry stuff about his world, about pirates, the government, about Luffy, the bandits and gramps, and-

About his father.

In hindsight, it wasn't surprising that Harry didn't really care, it wasn't like he'd been raised on horror stories about the Pirate King Gold Roger.

Harry also told Ace about his own world, and before this, Ace would have thought a world of magic would have been fun.

But hearing his soulmate talk about it-

Well, he'd discarded the notion pretty fast.

It sounded like almost everyone in his world was an idiot.

But- at least it was safer for him. No one would hunt him down for being Ace's soulmate. Or... rather...

The soulmate of the Pirate King's son.

Because that would be all he was to the Marines.

No identity of his own... just... like...

What a pitiful pair they were.

~

Harry gazed out through the window of one of the towers. The war had been won, but-

At a cost.

His job was done, but-

Well, even he hadn't anticipated the outcome. He had assumed he would still feel shackled to this place, if only due to the people there, but-

The people weren't there anymore. Many people had died, many _teenagers_ had died because the adults had hid behind their wards and their names and-

Well, the next generation had fought and paid in blood for this world.

He didn't think many of them would stay, however.

He himself being one of them.

But first...

He-

No.

_She._

She still needed the wizarding world for a few more things before she left. First, the gender change potion. A potion that, unlike Muggle surgery, truly and fundamentally changed one's biological gender as if they'd been born into that body.

And Harry- no, _Holly_ needed it.

She was glad Ace had been supportive ever since she'd come clean about how she felt about herself, had even encouraged her to do it as soon as possible, but-

Learning to navigate a new body shape before battle wasn't advisable. She'd probably have hurt herself or gotten killed due to balancing issues.

After the potion, she needed more information, more spells in her arsenal, more potions and ingredients, _everything_.

Because she was planning to leave and never come back. Not just the wizarding world, or even the country, but the Earth itself.

Her soulmate was waiting, after all.

She hadn't told him about her last goal, of course, she was going to surprise him.

It would take a few more years, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

Seeing him in her dreams... wasn't enough anymore. It hadn't been for a while, so...

_Wait for me..._

By the time the sun rose, Holly was in bed, ready to tell her soulmate that the war was over and that, soon, she would finally look the way she was supposed to. And when she woke up, she would begin her next few years of training and preparation.

She had much to do and not much time to do it in. Of course, she didn't actually know she was on a time limit, she was just impatient.

She would not know of the time limit for a little more than two years. But, by then, she would be ready.

Ready to _watch the world burn._


	2. Time's up (Panic at the gala)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly does all the things! Well, first she changes her physical gender, and _then_ she does all the things!  
> And then she panics, panics I tell you, when she falls asleep at some stupid function and Ace starts spewing nonsense.  
> Only, it's not nonsense.  
> Ace is going to die.  
>  _Not on her watch!_
> 
> (Please stop assuming I'm an idiot that's gonna have Holly fight a war in a skirt and heels. Please it's starting to really irritate me, especially when I have written Holly's opinion on her current state of dress. For the love of GOD please STOP it's fucking offensive.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I named the One Piece World Sekai. Don't judge me ours is named "Earth"

Holly devoured knowledge like her life depended on it. Honestly, that assessment wasn't that far off, if you knew what she was up to. Her happily ever after depended on her being ready when she was cut off from the Wizarding World. She had already started other preparations, too, and had finished some of the more... morally dubious ones. With a little help.

There were a lot of rituals to expand your magical core and speed up the regeneration of said core. Not all of them were legal and even more were unsafe.

Holly had done all the ones that were safe enough for her to do. She'd had help from a few of the survivors of the Battle of Hogwarts, the more cynical ones, that is. Those who were also going to leave at some point or would have left already if they hadn't taken her example of preparing things so that they could live comfortably wherever they went.

The end result was many less surviving Death Eaters and a boost to her body, magic, and healing speed. She would need it all if everything Ace had told her about his world was true, and if it wasn't, well...

At least she wouldn't be in danger of dying immediately.

If there was one thing the war had taught her, it was to prepare for the worst-case scenarios. All of them. If you prepared enough, there was much less chance to die.

Of course, strength wasn't all she needed, hence her being a Healer in all but certificate. It was easy enough to learn the muggle way, too, when you could cheat with magic. She could become a medical doctor if she truly wanted.

If.

Because what she wanted she couldn't find in this world.

One of the first things she'd done was, not change her gender, but correct her eyesight. If she was to travel to a world where any weakness could be the death of her or her or the people close to her, her glasses had to go. Having perfect vision had been a heady feeling, especially when it couldn't be snatched away by snatching her glasses. She had, however, invested in goggles so that she could protect her eyes in combat. She had yet to need them, but she had taken so many precautions while enchanting them. It wouldn't do to be blinded by them becoming dirty, after all. Another precaution that was unnecessary at the moment but would save her life in Ace's world was her bubblehead charm choker. She would never have to fear drowning.

But, well, right after magically correcting her eyesight... she had purchased the gender-changing potion from a reputable potion master since she herself hadn't been up to par in her brewing yet. When she'd gotten home to Grimmauld Place, which was once again under Fidelius with herself as the secret keeper, and why no one had done it like that before was anyone's guess. Wizards were idiots. Anyway, she'd changed into pajamas before taking the potion.

Of course, before she'd even gone to correct her eyesight, she'd had to bring up the issue with Ace. The way the gender change potion worked was that the default effect was just you but the other gender, however... the potion was magic, and magic was all about intent, so you could affect the end-result if you were thinking intensely enough about how you wanted to look. Which was why she'd asked-

“What do _I_ want?” The other ravenette had asked, face screwed in confusion.

Holly had nodded, fidgeting a little “I mean, you're going to be stuck with me for the rest of our lives, so if I'm going to be changing the way I look anyway, I...”

Ace had hugged her, causing her to trail off “I like the way you look. In any shape or form, I'm still gonna like the way you look. All I want is for you to feel like your body is _yours_ , ok? I just want you to like yourself.”

She'd closed her eyes and hugged him back, feeling warm from his declaration, which had been only slightly shattered by his next words “But since you're asking, well...”

She'd stepped back and looked at him with a deadpan expression.

He'd looked sheepish as he continued “Muscles. Not for the reasons you think!” he'd quickly amended “But- well... if you're strong, then you'll have a greater chance of surviving anything dangerous... I just-” he'd sighed “I just want you to be safe... even when you're in danger.”

She'd started working out immediately after that. She knew that it would be easier to retain muscle-mass during the switch if there was something already present. She'd also begun growing her hair out, with a little help from magic to speed it along.

This meant, that when she took the potion, she closed her eyes and thought really hard about what she wanted. [And when she opened her eyes in front of the bathroom mirror, it took everything in her not to cry.](https://64.media.tumblr.com/39a54ea69358db00068816c738be3d14/5bb54055033bc7c4-7f/s1280x1920/20ba6228de6006ac009c3d46248eee11f912954b.jpg)

Her hair was longer, reaching a little over halfway her back. It was wavy, and shiny, and still very much unruly like Potter hair was. She still had her mother's eyes, but her face-

Her face was rounder, so much more feminine that she felt choked up to finally see something in the mirror that she could call herself.

Her muscles were bigger, more defined than any witch she'd seen. She was no bodybuilder, but you could tell she worked out. She was very happy with that result. As for her figure- well... every girl wanted an hourglass figure. She could do what she wanted and she refused to feel bad.

Her pajamas were a little too big for her now, but she didn't care. In fact, it told her it had worked, which was- a good feeling.

Tomorrow she could finally go shopping for clothes she had always wanted to wear. There-

There were no words to describe the feeling of _home_ she felt when looking at herself. She finally, _finally_ felt like she was actually seeing _herself_ in the mirror.

She had never felt this happy.

Ace's confused face was endearing, especially when she saw realization bloom on his face, followed by a bright grin as he scooped her up and twirled her around, exclaiming “You did it! Congratulations!”

Holly giggled, feeling many things from just those words. It made her believe that he truly loved her. It didn't matter that they were soulmates, she still had fears about being lied to.

He put her down but didn't let go, resting his forehead against hers “You look amazing.”

Holly beamed up at him “I feel amazing!”

Her soulmate had nuzzled his nose into her hair, still smiling as he chuckled “And why wouldn't you? I'm really happy that you're happy, now.”

The witch hummed but hadn't voiced her disagreement. She wasn't done yet, after all. Ace made it sound like this was it, no more questing for her happiness.

And oh, was he wrong, even though he was partially right. She might be happy, but she wasn't done yet.

She had to get to him, still, after all.”I am. I... finally feel like _me_.”

After that, and a very cathartic shopping spree, she had started her long-term plan of building herself up in all the ways that mattered to her. Strength, resources, knowledge. And a way out.  
She had to plan for everything, every scenario. She had lost too much already and she refused to lose Ace, too.

However... she hadn't prepared for... this.

[She'd been attending some inane party](https://64.media.tumblr.com/4c9161a977ba8f6c39c0bedbc340543b/1bcd3ae87523edca-ac/s640x960/c3b496048032a30f8422504cb9346b948890bf9e.jpg) at the Ministry so that she could make sure she could get into the Veil Room. She'd found a way to use it to get to Ace's world, Sekai. Everything was ready, and she'd planned to leave in about a week. She was mostly ready, anyway, she just wanted to say goodbye to a few more people who had survived.

She hadn't meant to nod off during some no-name's speech, but she found herself in the dreamscape before she realized what had happened. She laughed to herself, shaking her head. She didn't expect to find Ace there either.

“Ace!” she exclaimed as soon as she laid eyes on him, lunging and hanging off of him with glee. She barely held herself back from telling him she was coming, but quickly felt herself grow cold when all he did was clutch her close to him and choke out-

“Oh thank God.”

That... that wasn't good.

“Ace?” she asked, doing her best to keep her voice steady and cringing when it wobbled.

They hadn't seen each other in a while, so this was... it was concerning.

Was he in trouble? Was that why-

“I just- I just wanted to see you one last time-”

Holly started shivering in fear. No. No. Nonononono.

“ _Ace_?”

Something was wrong. Something was terribly, _horribly_ wrong.

“I'm sorry. Holly, I'm sorry- they- they'll execute me in a few hours-”

No.

“But they can look and look and scour the seas and _never_ find you-”

_No._

“You'll be safe- you'll be safe from them. You'll be so safe from them it's hilarious-”

**_No._ **

“I love you. Gods, Holly, I'm sorry and I love you, ok?”

“Ace, no please-” she could barely choke out as he started to fade away, an indication of him waking up, of someone coming to take him _away from her_ -!

There was no time-

She kissed him as firmly as she could in the few seconds she had before he woke, tears streaming down her face.

She needed to wake up.

Wake up.

**_Wake u-!_ **

Holly jerked upright in her seat and grabbed her purse before bolting towards the Veil Room. She ignored everyone around her, she had no _time_!

Her purse had everything packed in it for an emergency. She hadn't planned for it to be _Ace's execution_ , but she had planned for the scenario that she'd need to leave quickly, so she was already packed up. But there was no time for her to change out of her party dress or heels. She knew she might be running straight into another war.

But she didn't care.

She didn't care, so long as she _didn't lose the last thing that mattered to her in this life._


	3. A wayward bunch of scoundrels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly is almost late, but having a broom means she can catch up to any ship she wants. She's a little miffed she's meeting her future brother-in-law before even getting engaged, though.
> 
> Ace is (technically) the son-in-law of a Marauder and Sengoku is going to regret ever opening his mouth.
> 
> As if anyone would admit to being the son of the Pirate King, what does he take him for?
> 
> (Please stop assuming I'm an idiot that's gonna have Holly fight a war in a skirt and heels. Please it's starting to really irritate me, especially when I have written Holly's opinion on her current state of dress. For the love of GOD please STOP it's fucking offensive.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or any combination thereof or none to everyone!

It was... ridiculously easy to just follow along with the jailbreak. She'd realized pretty quickly that they had already taken Ace away and she cursed the illogical maze that was the British Ministry of Magic. She hadn't even taken the time to toss her heels away and had run in them. They were chunky enough for her to do so, and while in Impel Down she'd just rode her broom, not wasting time. It had been a good thing she did, too, otherwise, she would definitely have been left behind.

She hadn't left many corpses behind her, just a few. Marshall D. Teach, for one. Him and his four crewmates. They definitely deserved to die. She only regretted it had been instant, but, well... taking no chances.

Not with the life of her family on the line.

If she hadn't packed her broom, she wouldn't have been able to get onto the ship the escapees had commandeered, although, their escape was apparently not so well-thought-out if the giant closed gate was anything to go by.

“What now, Shark!!?”

“We charge on through.”

“Oh come on! That's never gonna work! This is ridiculous! How can you be so calm!”

The by-play was hilarious, but-

“I will get us through.”

The bickering and panicking on the deck paused before someone had the bright idea to look up and exclaim in shock, pointing at her, hovering in the air.

Standing on top of a broom was a skill she had honed over the years, you never knew when it would come in handy to surf on a broom. It was also surprisingly easy to do in heels. She wondered how she looked to them but dismissed the thought almost immediately. She shifted her feet and weight that the broom angled down, bristles upward, and slid off it, landing on the ship's deck with a loud clack of her heels, broom in hand.

Handing said magical vehicle over to the only non-human on deck, she deadpanned “Hold this.”, before turning away as she dug through her bottomless purse for her runestones “Luffy, help me.”

The straw-hatted boy blinked at her, asking “Why?” even though he moved to comply. Good boy.

She showed the stones in her hand “I'm gonna stick these on the hull and make us fly.”

The 17-year-old's eyes lit up and he bounded over. She took his hand in her own and climbed over the rail “I need you to lower me half-way. Pull me up when I tell you and we'll do the other side.”

Luffy nodded and lowered her. The hull was slippery, but she managed to scramble along the side as Luffy helpfully shuffled sideways as soon as she placed a rune and hauled her back up when she called “Up!”, before repeating the process on the other side.

The runework, if it could be called that, done, Holly dropped to one knee, placing her hands on deck and pumping out magic to activate the runes and then speaking the words that were needed “Wingardium Leviosa.”

At first, there was no change, but then, slowly, surely, the entire ship started going diagonally. Still forwards, but now also up. The escapees cheered loudly as Holly opened her eyes to look at the obstacle in her way.

_Higher._

They were a fair bit away and not nearly high enough to make it.

_Higher._

She wasn't straining yet, but she knew this would take more than she'd anticipated. Honestly, for a spontaneous plan, it was working much better than she'd thought.

_Higher._

Almost there...

_**Higher!** _

And they were over the gate. Absently, she noted they had been shot at with cannons, which explained the ringing in her ears. The first hurdle overcome, she started to lessen the magic she was pouring into the stone, into the wood, into the spell. The landing was perhaps rougher than she'd anticipated, but it was better than her trying to make the ship intangible or, heaven forbid, tried to Alohomora the giant gate. Not to mention how many bombarda maximas it would have taken to just break them. She didn't have time to try those methods.

The Woman-Who-Conquered slumped on the deck, groaning “Oh my god that was horrible.”

“That was awesome!” her soulmate's brother screamed, stars in his eyes.

Holly sat up with a laugh, wiping her brow and pushing her bangs up from her face “Yeah, it was kind of awesome, wasn't it?”

The Fishman holding her Firebolt II zeroed in on her scar, humming “A lightning bolt scar... I see. You are Ace-kun's soulmate.”

Holly cocked her head, a coy smile playing on her lips “He talked about me?”

The Fishman nodded, handing the broom over, which Holly used to support herself as she stood up “The guards would not let him sleep, and he became more and more stressed at being unable to contact you. I know he managed to sleep for a moment before he was taken away and by the looks of things he got to see you before they took him away.”

Holly's expression hardened. So that was why she hadn't seen him “I fell asleep at a party only to have him tell me- tell me goodbye... I didn't have time to do anything but hurry. I'm not _dressed for war, **damnit**_!”

She could tell everyone looking her up and down and agreeing that a sparkly dress and heels weren't exactly something to go to war in. Well, she'd do it since there was nothing else she could do. Of course, she'd have to do a little change to her wardrobe once they actually got to Marineford.

Jinbe, as the Fishman had finally been introduced as, took to steering while the rest of the escapees devolved into chaos once it finally sunk in that they were going to Marineford. To war. It was too late for the idiots to turn back and the clown was extremely bad at hiding his Slytherin plotting. Not even good Slytherin plotting. The bad kind of Slytherin that should have been put into some other house.

Luffy had pestered her and called her his “Sister-in-law” which was adorable and hilarious since she hadn't even married his idiot brother yet, but left her alone when the snail phone got called. The chaos from that was also a little funny to watch.

The call also told her that no one knew about her existence yet, in fact, the Marines seemed baffled at how the ship had managed to fly but seemed to assume it was something called “Impact Dials”. Holly had no idea what those were, but if the Marines were going to make false assumptions, well, it would only work in their favour. They also seemed to think it was a one-time thing, which... hah.  
She could do it twice more if really needed. Hopefully, it wouldn't be, but she _could_.

She'd just sat down out of the way to conserve energy while listening to the bullshit being spewed since she would have to float the ship once they got to the gate that led to Marineford. 

Her knowledge of this world was still subpar. Sure, Ace had explained when she'd asked, but he was... well, Ace. He wasn't good at explaining things all the time. Well, it wasn't like he'd thought she'd asked out of anything other than curiosity.

But, well, she didn't care much for the world order at the moment. All she cared about was getting Ace out of his execution alive. But if she wanted him to also be happy, she'd have to ensure everyone on their side also made it out mostly unscathed.

There weren't many spells she could use for mass destruction, but she did have a few. And best of all, from what she'd noticed anyway, magic worked much like Haki, that it hurt even Logias. That was all she really needed to know. All spells were part willpower, anyway, so perhaps that was why. The more willpower exerted to control the spell's outcome...

Oh yes, she had a few spells in her arsenal alright.

~

Ace gazed over the battlement with dead eyes, his only relief being that while they may take his life, they could never break his soul. If there was even a chance for them to be able to find Holly after he died, then maybe he would be more of a wreck. But he was pulling one over the Marines, without even trying. It was hilarious.

Holly had corrupted him.

Her second-hand tales of the Marauders had made him appreciate Thatch's pranks even more and had also gotten him to actually help with said pranks. They'd recreated more than one of the Marauder Specials, as he'd called them. Thatch had been the first one he told about Holly. It had been an accident, really, but after he'd blurted out that Holly had told him about the idea, there was no going back.

After that, he'd started talking about her more. Everyone assumed she was just on some island that was extremely hard to get to, which, while not wrong, wasn't right either, but no one had pushed him after he'd said it was impossible for them to ever meet.

Now Thatch was dead and Ace would die alone.

At least...

At least he'd gotten to say goodbye. At least he'd told her he loved her. Even if the last thing he'd seen was her crying face... at least she knew.

The Whitebeard 2nd Division Commander tilted his head back, closing his eyes with a shaky sigh as he tried to recall the sensation of her lips on his.

Yeah. At least he had this.

The pirate opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps and shot a baleful look at Gramps' friend and boss. What, didn't he have anything better to do than come and gloat at him?

Wait...

Ace brought his head down as the Fleet Admiral began to speak into the Den Den.

They wouldn't, would they?

Oh my god, they would.

“Ace, tell me the name of your father!”

Ace narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows riding up as he failed to express his incredulousness verbally, even though he tried.

Did... did Sengoku really think he was just gonna _admit_ it?

…

...he did, didn't he?

He knew Marines were full of themselves, but this was-

A slow grin stretched across his face.

Oh, he was gonna have fun with this.

Holly had really corrupted him.

Well, better live up to his status of a Marauder's son-in-law. Technically.

 _Look at me, James,_ Ace thought as he opened his mouth _I'm about to make you proud._


	4. The ship is a sled, now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sledding down a glacier in a Government-owned ship is not the craziest thing Holly has ever done.  
> And it probably won't be the last crazy thing she ever does, either.
> 
> Ace has fun until he doesn't.
> 
> (Please stop assuming I'm an idiot that's gonna have Holly fight a war in a skirt and heels. Please it's starting to really irritate me, especially when I have written Holly's opinion on her current state of dress. For the love of GOD please STOP it's fucking offensive.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very proud of this chapter.

Marco had expected chaos to be a result of the war they were about to fight. He hadn't expected chaos to already be happening when they arrived. No one had even noticed they'd emerged from the bay, all eyes were on the spectacle taking place on the execution platform.

“Are you some sort of moron? Roger died like, 22 years ago. I'm 20. Human pregnancies don't work like that!”

“Your mother prolonged her pregnancy-”

“If a woman keeps the baby in for too long the body reabsorbs it! What kind of biology lessons do Marines fucking have?! Gramps! Tell him pregnancies don't work that way! You'd know, you have a kid!”

Marco's shoulders shook as he slapped a hand on his mouth, stifling the laughter that threatened to escape. Oh. This was-

This was hilarious.

It seemed like Ace had decided to screw with the Marines by poking holes in their announcement. It didn't matter if they were right if no one would believe them.

“Stop bringing a dead guy into the equation! You're just mad he gave himself up and made it impossible for the Marines to arrest his crew! You're trying to make yourselves look good even though you ain't got shit!”

“You are the Pirate King's son!”

“Prove it!”

Marco wasn't the only one trying not to laugh at this point. He could tell Oyaji was amused by the proceedings, too.

“Next you'll try and tell me I'm not related to Gramps! Even though he's been calling me his grandson since I was born!”

“You're _not_ related-”

“Blood test or bust!”

It was a good thing Ace had decided to do this, because the miracle Rouge and Roger pulled would only be believed if it wasn't disputed. As soon as you disagreed with it, it did sound like bullshit. Especially the prolonging of the pregnancy, as a doctor he, too would call bullshit if he hadn't heard it from Ace himself.

The fact that Marco knew Ace knew for a fact he was the son of Gol D Roger just made the situation that much funnier and he mourned that Thatch wasn't there to see it. He would have appreciated a prank like this. Ace was pranking both the Marines _and_ the entire world. At the _same time_.

Haruta better get recordings of the beginning of this, he wanted to see how it had started.

“Execute me for my own sins, damnit! Or at least admit you just want to start a war with Oyaji! Or _at least_ do your research before trying to hoist my existence onto a dead man! Or a dead man's sins onto me!”

Marco was suddenly struck with the memory of Ace laughing at Thatch for getting caught for something or the other, the Phoenix had only then realized the prank had to have been Ace's idea in the first place. Especially when their new brother had said “Marauder's rule of survival: Deny, deny, deny everything.”

He'd later found out Ace's soulmate's father and friends had been a notorious prankster group called the Marauders, rather than some minor Pirate Crew. Honestly, anyone could have made that mistake.

But anyway, it seemed Ace's soulmate had been a wonderful influence on the Division Commander, if this was his response to Sengoku trying to out his status to the world.

The pirate and marine only paused their bickering when Sengoku finally noticed they had arrived, which caused the Fire Logia to also turn to look at the bay.

“Oyaji!”

“Gurararara, my beloved son had better be unharmed, Sengoku!”

Now, the war had started.

~

Holly heaved, glad there was nothing in her stomach to be expelled, but apparently floating a ship twice, plus all the rocking, was enough to make her seasick. She was never doing this again.

Who was she kidding, she'd do it if she had to, but she wouldn't _want_ to do this again.

She regretted jinxing herself when they were suddenly riding a _tsunami_ of epic proportions and she barely had time to make them float again when the entire thing flash-froze.

Only problem that since she floated them... the ship was frozen truly precariously on the crest of the wave.

The 20-year-old woman exhaled shakily “Nobody make any sudden movements...”

Their position meant they could see into the bay below, the war had already started and from the looks of things, not strictly in their side's favour. Holly cursed under her breath, wondering how the hell they were all going to get down there.

“I have a plan!”

Luffy's plan wasn't feasible.

“We're too close to the inner edge to slide down the outside of the glacier, gimme a sec and maybe I can-” she was cut off by the Snail Phone ringing again, only this time it answered itself.

It was an announcement. Most of it was generic terminology and codes, but the last bit was horrifyingly clear.

They would execute Ace ahead of schedule.

The panicking of everyone onboard resulted in, you guessed it, sudden movements, meaning the ship was dislodged.

Holly was immediately filled with adrenaline and took control of the situation “Everyone hold on!”

Her scream was barely heard above the wind rushing in their ears, but somehow the escapees managed to all grab ahold of something as she took partial control of the ship with an overpowered Mobilicorpus. It might have been designed for humans, but willpower did the rest. She could do nothing to slow their descent, but she did manage to hold the ship mostly upright as they _sledded_ down the frozen wave in a stolen Marine Battleship.

This wasn't even the strangest thing she'd ever done. Or the most dangerous.

What did that say about her life?

Thankfully, it seemed there was an unfrozen spot in the bay, which was where Holly steered the ship-turned-sled with an almighty splash that rocked the boat enough for a few people to be flung off. Thankfully all the Devil Fruit eaters had managed to stay aboard.

The battle had paused at the sound of their collective screams, and still hadn't resumed, presumably due to their extreme entrance. Well, at least they didn't actually fall from the sky, the ship would have been completely broken from that. As it was, it was only slightly banged up, maybe had a few holes in the bottom, easy fix.

The ship had spun around a few times, making Holly dizzy, but they were facing Marineford and could now see the execution platform and the people on it.

Luffy was at the rail in a blink, waving and hollering “A~CE~!”

His brother was very audibly not impressed “ _ **LUFFY**_??!” 

“I FOUND YOU! AND I BROUGHT YOUR GIRLFRIEND!” the boy paused, shooting a glance at Holly, who skidded to a stop a few steps away, catching herself on the railing as she stared out into the battlefield and straight at her soulmate “OR, WELL, SHE BROUGHT HERSELF!”

“ _ **HOLLY**_??!”

“ACE, YOU BLOODY WANKER I'M NOT DRESSED FOR WAR!!”

That... wasn't what she'd meant to say, but oh well. The point still stood! She wasn't dressed for war! It was a good thing she was wearing skintight dragonhide shorts under this dress! Otherwise, she wouldn't be even _partially_ ready for battle!

It seemed like their entrance and the people aboard their ship was enough to shock the Marines and some of the pirates. Holly didn't much care as she scanned the battlefield, already making plans on what to do next. Getting rid of as much of the enemy forces as she could as fast as she could was a priority, but the Admirals...

Yes, the Admirals had to be taken care of.

She couldn't tell who was who, but if they were colour-coded... then perhaps...

Wait, where's Crocodile?

Fu-!

Edward Newgate barely even glanced behind him at the weak presence of the Sand Logia “It's been a while! Whitebear- urk!”

He was cut off by him crashing into a shield and then being kicked away by his son's little brother, who was glowing the same colour as the shield. Only seconds after that, a black-haired woman in a black, sparkly formal dress and heels appeared beside the boy with an audible crack.

“I honored out agreement and helped you get here, why are you protecting Whitebeard?” Crocodile asked, obviously miffed.

Strawhat, meanwhile, wasn't impressed either “So this guy really is Whitebeard, huh? Hands off, Ace really likes this guy!”

Finally, the woman, his son's soulmate, cracked her knuckles “Hands off my father-in-law, wanker.” pause “ _Future_ father-in-law.”

Newgate huffed. The girl had guts. And cheek. She'd need it if she was going to fight a war in _that_. Then again, the fact that she had come when his son had insisted it was impossible, well...

It meant something.

She must have left as soon as she heard, if she hadn't had time to even change clothes. Though from where, was the question? Was her teleportation ability something she'd used to get to Ace's little brother? If so, then when exactly had she heard of the execution?

So many questions and no time to ask for answers to any of them.

Still, these two were nowhere near the level where they should be anywhere near a war like this. And if they lacked conviction... then it would be better for them to stay out of the fight.

~

Holly didn't really know anything about Pirate politics, and boy was she surprised they even existed, but even she could tell the hat Luffy owned meant something. Whitebeard knew who had had it before, and it was significant enough for the man to ask, which meant it had meaning. What that meaning was, well, that, Holly didn't know.

She also wasn't pleased at being ignored but kept her silence during the exchange. At least the man had looked at her before focusing on Luffy, but it still irked her.

“Do you understand what you're up against? You're simply throwing your life away!! Both of you!”

Oh, now she was being spoken to- wait.

Oh hell no.

Luffy beat her to yelling, but she wouldn't let it lie.

“Shut up! You don't get to decide that! I heard about you, you wanna be Pirate King too! Well, the one who is going to be Pirate King is ME!!”

Silence followed that particular declaration, soon to be broken by Whitebeard's chuckle.

“Well, I'll be damned.... don't get in my way, greenhorn!”

“I'll do whatever I want! I'm saving Ace by myself!”

Urgh, men.

Holly blinked as she remembered what had had them panicking only mere moments ago “They're going to execute Ace ahead of schedule.”

Both Whitebeard and Luffy turned to her after she'd said it, while Luffy perked up “Oh yeah, the Marines sent out a message to everyone. It had a bunch of codes I didn't understand, but they said they'd execute Ace ahead of schedule after the preparations were done!”

Her soulmate's found father nodded “I see, you are certain?”

Holly jerked her thumb towards the Marine Battleship “Considering hearing it caused our grand entrance, _yes I'm bloody sure_!”

“I see, it seems I must thank you.”

“No problem.” the straw-hatted teen nonchalantly said before leaping off the ship “I'M COMING FOR YOU, ACE!”

And suddenly, it was just her and the world's strongest man at the head of the ship. She wasn't sure what to call the emotions in the man's gaze. Judgment? Apathy? Puzzlement? She couldn't tell, she couldn't read him, she could only wait for him to speak.

And speak he did.

“Ace said it was impossible for the two of you to ever meet. I'm surprised you made your way here. Are you going to regret sacrificing so much? War is no place for someone like you.”

It shouldn't have been surprising, hearing that. He didn't know her, after all, and Ace was...

Well...

The Woman-Who-Conquered chuckled, turning her face down so that no one could see her expression “Someone like me? Sacrifice? What rubbish...”

The leader of the Army of Hogwarts raised her head and looked straight into the eyes of her soulmate's father figure “Do not lecture me! Do not dare presume you know _anything_ about me! You know nothing! NOTHING! I am Potter J. Holly! The last remaining member and Head of the Most Noble and Ancient Houses of Potter, Black, Gryffindor, and Slytherin! Meaningless, _worthless_ titles granted to me due to birth and being _the last one standing_! I fought a war at 17 because people more qualified stuck their heads in the sand! I was their General! Their figurehead! Their leader! And maybe we won, but at what cost!?”

She was screaming and she couldn't stop. She knew everyone could hear her, but she just couldn't keep it contained anymore.

Sacrifice?

“I HAVE SACRIFICED _NOTHING_! BECAUSE THE ONLY THING LEFT FOR ME TO SACRIFICE-” she screamed, whipping her hand to point at the execution platform “IS HIM! AND I _**REFUSE**_!!!”

The world was silent as she breathed deeply, shaking in fear and anger as she clenched her hand into a fist and brought it back down.

“I love him. And there is nothing I won't do for him. So either help me or get out of my way.”


	5. Dragon force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly shows everyone why you should always dodge when magic is involved.
> 
> Ace hates himself for being _so deliriously happy_ that she's there.
> 
> Whitebeard does what Whitebeard does best. Adopt people without consent.
> 
> Luckily for him, Holly does not mind. She does not mind _at all_.

Ace's ears were ringing and he couldn't breathe. He'd wanted to scream and rage at Luffy, and he would have, _he would have_ if-

If-

_“I HAVE SACRIFICED NOTHING! BECAUSE THE ONLY THING LEFT FOR ME TO SACRIFICE IS HIM! AND I **REFUSE**!!!”_

The Division Commander hunched over, trying to keep it together.

_She was supposed to be safe-!_

_“Do not dare presume you know anything about me! You know nothing! NOTHING! I am Potter J. Holly!”_

Tears streamed down his face. Everyone would know her name now. Everyone knew she _existed_.

But why did he feel so _happy_?

_“I love you. Gods, Holly, I'm sorry and I love you, ok?”_

_“Ace, no please-”_

_She's not crying anymore._

Maybe... that was why.

Ace straightened up as he tried to get his emotions under control, only for his train of thought to be cut off as he once again laid eyes on his soulmate, eyes widening at the new state of her dress.

_What is she doing???_

~

Holly huffed and turned to face the battlefield, her glare softening as she laid eyes on Ace's hunched-over form. It wasn't surprising, his reaction. The overwhelming panic must have stopped the screaming he wanted to let loose.

Looking back at the blond who'd landed next to Whitebeard to tell him the same thing Holly and Luffy already had, she decided he'd been good enough to point out her targets to her “Hey, Marco! Point out the Admirals to me, I need to know who needs to die!”

The Zoan looked at her with an unreadable expression but did as asked. Everyone had heard her rant, so it wasn't that surprising.

“The yellow one with shades is Kizaru, yoi. He has the Pika Pika no Mi. Akainu, the red one, has the Magu Magu no Mi and Aokiji-”

“Is the blue one, right, thanks. I'm going to cull the opposition a little- help me with my skirt please.” the witch nonchalantly asked as she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail.

The blond blinked at the request “Your skir-?”

 _ **Rrrrriiiiiiippp**_!

Holly didn't wait for him to reply as she proceeded to _tear her skirt off_. She refused fight in a _dress and heels_.

Marco, to his defense, only froze for a moment before grabbing the torn cloth and pulling it all off, leaving just a few tatters clinging to her waist, showing the shorts she was wearing underneath. Holly then proceeded to take her heels off and chuck them somewhere behind her before bringing her hands together.

She had long since mastered wandless casting, even if she preferred her wand when complicated movements were a must to channel the spell needed, such as the more surgical medical spells.

But this was not a medical spell.

This... was pure destruction.

She thrust her hands in the air, letting loose the flames of an over-powered Fiendfyre, which took the form of a dragon and surged into the Marine troops. The fiery beast was still connected to her through a tendril of flame, but otherwise, it seemed to have a mind of its own. This was true, of course, but Holly exerted her will over it so that it would not go near the fighting Whitebeards. Once she had burned a good chunk of the enemy forces, she focused on the Admirals. Specifically... the red one.

The Fiendfyre dragon reared it's head in a roar that shook the ground, before lunging, jaws open, at the Magma Logia. The man tried to fight, but the beast only re-formed after being hit, so there was no stopping it from clamping. Down.

It was obvious no one expected the _waterfall_ of blood drip from the fiery dragon's mouth. They'd expected the man's Logia defense to kick in.

But Fiendfyre was a spell that needed much willpower to control.

This meant, in essence, it was the same as using Haki against a Logia.

Meaning Akainu's defense was _useless_ and he would _burn_.

The dragon had bitten him in the neck, so there were no screams, which, in all honesty, was probably even more eerie to the Marines. The dragon shaking the man's bleeding, burning body vigorously like a puppy was- well, that was all Holly.

This was all the humiliating she would allow herself. Teach had died too quickly, but she hadn't wanted to take any chances. Speaking of which, she wondered if she should gift the man's head to Ace or her future father-in-law. Oh, well. 

Akainu would die, perhaps not as, but quickly enough to not have the chance of escape. He would be humiliated and hurt before he passed, however. But he _would_ die.

She would have nothing less.

Kizaru was dangerous, yes, but he wasn't a zealot like Akainu. She could afford to let him live if she had to. Aokiji...

He didn't have to die, either, but for different reasons. Actually, she'd rather he... not.

From what she'd heard from Ace, the man had morals. And... honestly, that was enough.

It wouldn't do to get rid of the few good ones, after all. Just because most of the Marines were bad eggs didn't mean she could raze the entire organization. The few good ones just needed more room to gain influence, and if she took out some really bad ones taking all the room, well...

She could scheme too. There was a reason the hat considered Slytherin, after all.

A swipe of the dragon's tail and- it seemed only Aokiji had the capacity to learn. He, at least, had tried to dodge.

Tried.

Kizaru, meanwhile, got the full force of the flaming tail smacking into him and was horribly wounded. Enough that he wasn't trying to get up, at least.

Aokiji was the same, but he'd only been glanced, really. He was burned, sure, but only a third as much as Kizaru. The man must just be taking advantage of the situation and pretending to be just as wounded.

Good. The man was smart.

Less work for her side, too.

With that in mind, she surveyed the battlefield. She had most likely killed at least a third of the Marine forces and wounded a good chunk of them. Akainu was dead and the other two admirals were down for the count. Some other big players were alive but otherwise occupied and-

Morale was low. For the Marines.

It also wouldn't do for her to focus too much on the opposition, she was here for a different reason, she'd just wanted to make it easier for herself. While also telling the World Government exactly where they could stuff it.

She was here to save Ace, not much more, and not a drop less.

She was willing to do anything to achieve this goal.

Her secondary goal, however...

She let the dark spell taper off, feeling slightly winded after using it, she'd better hold off using anything big for a while, but she'd be able to fill up her reserves relatively fast, so she wasn't going to be helpless any time soon. Lowering her arms, she let out a shaky breath, before wiping her brow of the sweat that had culminated there.

That had been... slightly harder than she'd expected, but no matter.

Turning on her heel and plunging her hand into her purse, she fished out a rather nifty invention of hers that would serve well as a means of insurance. The two green ribbons fluttered in the wind as she marched over to Whitebeard and quickly and decisively tied the first ribbon around the man's wrist. It barely reached and she'd have to cut it off rather than open the knot she'd had to tie because there was no way to open it again.

“Hold this.” she deadpanned, channeling magic into the embroidered runes and watching as the entire thing lit up.

The man raised an eyebrow “What is this?”

She went to flip her hair, only to remember it was in a ponytail, and instead just flicked her wrist “A shield and passive healing charm. Morale will dip harshly if something happens to you and Ace will be a hindrance if you are not marginally safe. I will not allow you to traumatize him by _dying_.” she jabbed, knowing his type.

He was the type to want to die in a glorious battle, but _today was not that day._

She refused.

The man, rather surprisingly, started laughing, causing the young woman to blink.

“Very well, daughter. Go save my stupid son already, would you?”

Oh.

…

 _ **Oh**_.

That-

Holly spun around to hide her wide eyes as she felt a wave of warmth at those words. She-

She had not expected that.

She quickly tied the second ribbon around Marco's wrist and activated it before taking a [running](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e703a90dac6366138606427dffa40a07/9d2ca65875f5887a-e4/s640x960/aa7397419c873e43b3d6e25b57faa698a8b5efc8.jpg), magic-boosted leap off of the very edge of Moby's whale figurehead, firing a cushioning charm at the ground as it neared and rolling forwards, not breaking her stride as she ran straight towards her soulmate.

_I'm coming for you, Ace! Don't you **dare** leave me now!_

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr for my fanfic rambles and my artwork for my fanfics: <https://mullk6fics.tumblr.com/>
> 
> [Immediately after gender-change](https://64.media.tumblr.com/39a54ea69358db00068816c738be3d14/5bb54055033bc7c4-7f/s1280x1920/20ba6228de6006ac009c3d46248eee11f912954b.jpg)  
> [Holly in her formal getup](https://64.media.tumblr.com/4c9161a977ba8f6c39c0bedbc340543b/1bcd3ae87523edca-ac/s640x960/c3b496048032a30f8422504cb9346b948890bf9e.jpg)  
> [Battle-ready Holly](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e703a90dac6366138606427dffa40a07/9d2ca65875f5887a-e4/s640x960/aa7397419c873e43b3d6e25b57faa698a8b5efc8.jpg)
> 
> Because some fucking people can't take into consideration the spirit of my last version, LET ME BE FUCKING LITERAL THEN
> 
> DO NOT beg/ask/demand updates of me. It won't help, in fact, it will make me not update for even fucking longer.  
> DO NOT ask ABOUT updates either. Doing so has the same fucking effect, me not updating.  
> Doing any one of these things ANYWAY will have the effect of me cussing you out, hating you and everything you stand for, and deleting your comment and any that follow.  
> DO NOT tell me I should be flattered by people essentially asking me to do unpaid slave labour for their own entertainment, with no regard to my own mental health.
> 
> I would appreciate it if my comment sections were kept to being a happy place. A stress-free zone. A place I can visit to gather energy in hopes that it will help me write.
> 
> If you don't know what else to say when the things above are said to be taboo, emoji hearts are a good way to do so. No one can misinterpret emoji hearts. The things above can be misinterpreted. Don't do them.  
> Another way is to comment "I can't wait to see what happens next!"
> 
> Honestly, please don't even mention people doing this, or the word Update. It stresses me the fuck out and I have enough issues without people reminding me of the bad stuff.
> 
> Please, for the love of god don't make my bad days worse and ruin my good days, few as they are.


End file.
